Past Activities and Projects

Archive

Take a dive into IUFRO-SPDC's  archive.


IUFRO-EFI Young Scientists Initiative

The IUFRO-EFI Young Scientists Initiative (YSI) was a collaboration between IUFRO and the European Forest Institute (EFI) and offered a limited number of grants of up to EUR 5 000 annually for Short Scientific Visits specifically for Early Career Scientists. These Visits provided a unique opportunity for young scientists from Africa, Asia and Latin America to visit a European forest research organisation and conduct a scientific collaboration with a young scientist from the respective host organisation.

Learn more: https://www.iufro.org/science/special/spdc/ysi/

 

Activities and Projects in 2016

International knowledge-sharing workshop on “Forest Landscape Restoration and Global Change: From Policy to Practice”; Kigali, Rwanda, 26-27 July 2016 (60 participants);
www.iufro.org/science/special/spdc/actproj/flr-ws/rwanda/

International knowledge-sharing workshop on “Forest Landscape Restoration and Global Change: From Policy to Practice”; San Salvador, El Salvador, 20-21 September 2016 (total 40 participants)
www.iufro.org/science/special/spdc/actproj/flr-ws/el-salvador/

Expert Workshop on Ecosystem Services and Natural Hazards of Mountain Forests in Central Asia; Baktuu-Dolonotu, Kyrgyzstan; 18-21 July 2016 (40 participants)


Activities and Projects 2015

Training Workshop on
Science-Policy Interactions “Making Science work for Forest and Landscape Restoration”

Hotel City Lodge, Durban, South Africa, 4-6 September 2015IUFRO’s Special Programme for Development of Capacities (SPDC) in collaboration with the World Resources Institute organized a 3-day training workshop on science-policy interactions for forest and landscape restoration in conjunction with the World Forestry Congress. More ...


Activities and Projects 2014

 

IUFRO-SPDC Pre-Congress Training Workshops

in connection with the XXIV IUFRO World Congress 2014


29 September-3 October 2014 in Snowbird, Utah, USA
Venue: Snowbird Resort (around 40 km out of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA)

The Special Programme for Development of Capacities (IUFRO-SPDC) of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) has a long history of organising Training Workshops on pertinent subjects relevant to forest scientists from developing countries in conjunction with large IUFRO conferences and congresses. The IUFRO World Congress 2014 in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America constituted another ideal opportunity for providing training to selected participants in special skills regarding knowledge generation and science communication.  

In designing its capacity building programmes IUFRO-SPDC makes use of IUFRO’s global network of forest institutions of research and higher education by bringing together state-of-the-art scientific knowledge, expertise and resource persons available in virtually all regions of the world. In this way, IUFRO-SPDC training workshops offer great opportunities to individual scientists for exchanging knowledge, learning from each other and thus expanding research capacity and forest science cooperation.

More information ...


Past Multi-Annual Projects


2012-2016

EcoAdapt:  “Ecosystem-based strategies and innovations in governance networks for adaptation to climate change in Latin American Landscapes”

Project coordinator: CIRAD (France)
Research Partners: CATIE (Costa Rica–CATIE is also Regional Coordinator), SEI (Oxford, UK), The Global Network for Forest Science Cooperation (IUFRO, Austria)

The project was initiated in January 2012 and financed by the European Union for a period of four years. The project’s overall objective was to develop ecosystem-based strategies of adaption to climate change in three model forests in Latin America: Chiquitano in Bolivia, Jujuy in Argentina, and Araucarias de Alto Malleco in Chile.

More ...


2012-2013

2-Year Cooperation between ITTO and IUFRO

Strengthening the Capacity of ITTO Producer Countries in Africa in Generating and Disseminating Scientific Information on Reducing Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Enhancing Environmental Services from Forests (REDDES)

Project Partners: International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), International Union of Forest Research Institutions (IUFRO), Forestry Research Network for Sub-Saharan Africa (FORNESSA), Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD, Cameroon), Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG, Ghana), Forestry Development Authority (FDA, Liberia), Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN, Nigeria), African Forest Forum (AFF)

Duration: 2012 – 2013 (24 months)

Funding: ITTO; IUFRO through US-Forest Service and Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs


This project was about supporting ITTO producer countries in Africa to dealing with the challenges of reducing deforestation and enhancing the rehabilitation of degraded tropical forests given that in many African countries there is a strong connection between forest degradation and the inability by decision-makers and society at large to access existing scientific knowledge and innovations that could aid in reversing the numerable negative effects of forest degradation. In an attempt to address this issue and in line with ITTO's objective and Thematic Program on REDDES (Reducing deforestation and forest degradation and enhancing environmental services from forests), the project generated scientific information on specific REDDES pilot areas in Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria, disseminated this information to policy makers and forest practitioners at the national and regional level through science-policy interactions in close cooperation with the African Forest Forum. Regional networking and capacity building was further strengthened by jointly organising a regional forest congress for forest scientists, policy makers and other forest stakeholders, in order to mainstream project results, foster regional cooperation through FORNESSA and AFF, and strengthen the role of ITTO in the African region. More ...

For additional information please visit: www.fornis.net


ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS IN 2013

Training Workshop "Working effectively at the Interface of Forest Science and Forest Policy"
22-24 October, 2013 in Thimphu, Bhutan
IUFRO-SPDC in collaboration with the Renewable Natural Resources Research and Development Center Yusipang of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Royal Government of Bhutan, and the University of Natural Resources and Life Science (BOKU), Vienna, Austria organised a three-day training workshop on “Working Effectively at the Interface of Forest Science and Forest Policy”.

The workshop was implemented within the framework of the Bhutan-Austria Project on  “Climate change adaptation potentials of forests in Bhutan – Building human capacities and knowledge base (BC-CAP).” The three-day training event aimed at providing concepts and methods to researchers on how to plan, conduct, and organize research activities so that research results can be more quickly and easily transformed into usable information for problem-solving and policy-making. Read more about the workshop content and results ...

 

Tercer Congreso Latinoamericano de IUFRO y Taller Pre-Congreso
9 al 15 de Junio 2013

Comunicando la Ciencia Forestal – Poniendo la Ciencia al Servicio de la Política y el Manejo
El Programa Especial para Países en Desarrollo de IUFRO (IUFRO-SPDC) organió el taller pre-congreso "Comunicando la Ciencia Forestal  – Poniendo la Ciencia al Servicio de la Política y el Manejo”para científicos forestales jóvenes con interés en que los resultados de su investigación sean aplicados en las prácticas de manejo forestal. Se celebró en el hotel “Palma Real”, San José, Costa Rica, del 09 al 11 de junio 2013) vinculado al III Congreso Forestal Latinoamericano (del 12 al 15 de junio 2013).
IUFRO-SPDC organizó el taller con el apoyo de instructores de formación científica provenientes de Chile y Costa Rica.  

Se ofreció la participación en el taller a los particpantes elegidos para el programa el programa de asistencia a científicos (SAP) del Congreso.



Activities and Projects in 2012

IUFRO-FORNESSA Regional Congress & ITTO/AFF Forest Policy Day
FORESTS AND TREES: SERVING THE PEOPLE OF AFRICA AND THE WORLD
Nairobi, Kenya, June 25-30, 2012

Scientist Assistance Programme &
Pre-Congress Training Workshops (23-24 June, 2012)

Scientist Assistance Programme
The Scientist Assistance Program (SAP) was designed to offer delegates from Sub-Saharan African countries financial assistance (congress registration fee, flight ticket, accommodation and subsistence) to participate in the first IUFRO-FORNESSA Regional Congress. Support packages were offered in relation with the Pre-Congress Training Workshops organised by the IUFRO Special Programme for Developing Countries (IUFRO-SPDC) and Global Forest Information Service (GFIS). In total 82 forest scientists from more than 15 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa attended the congress.

Pre-Congress Training Workshops
As part of IUFRO’s capacity building programme for young and mid-career scientists, IUFRO-SPDC in cooperation with the Kenya Forestry Research Institute organised the following two training workshops prior to the Congress from 23 to 24 June, 2012:

  • PREPARING AND WRITING RESEARCH PROPOSALS
    This training was targeted young scientists from African countries in need to expand their skills in mobilising funding for their research. The content of the training workshop is available for download here.


  • COMMUNICATING FOREST RESEARCH – MAKING SCIENCE WORK FOR POLICY AND MANAGEMENT
    The workshop was designed for early and mid-career scientists/research managers from African countries interested in learning more about effective science communication. For details please see the workshop report.

Activities and Projects in 2011

Sector Network Rural Development, Africa
Enhancing Adaptation of Forests and People in Africa
Development of Pilot Cases for Selected Forest Ecosystems in Ghana and Malawi
Prepared by: Forestry Research Network of Sub-Saharan Africa (FORNESSA)
Lead Authors: Ernest Foli and Steve Makungwa
Editor: Michael Kleine
Available for download here.

Training Workshop
COMMUNICATING FOREST RESEARCH – MAKING SCIENCE WORK FOR POLICY AND MANAGEMENT
Prior to the 2nd Asia Pacific Forestry Week
Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 4 and 5 November, 2011

IUFRO-SPDC in close cooperation with the IUFRO Working Party 9.01.02 Communication and Public Relations organised a training workshop on "Communicating forest research – making science work for policy and management" on 4 and 5 November, 2011 in Beijing, China.

Have a look at the workshop report. The Training Workshop was open for early or mid-career scientists from IUFRO or APAFRI member organizations in the Asia Pacific Region.

More ...


Taller de capacitación pre-congreso "Trabajando efectivamente en la Interfaz entre la Ciencia y la Política Forestal” y Congreso Latinoaméricano de Derecho Forestal y Ambiental
Colegio de Abogados, San José, Costa Rica
Taller: 24 -25 de octubre 2011
Congreso:26 – 28 de octubre 2011


El Programa Especial para Países en Desarrollo de IUFRO (IUFRO-SPDC) invitó a participar a científicos y asesores políticos al taller pre-congreso "Trabajando efectivamente en la Interfaz entre la Ciencia y la Política Forestal”  y en el Congreso Latinoaméricano de Derecho Forestal y Ambiental. IUFRO-SPDC organizó el taller con el apoyo del Grupo de Trabajo de Derecho Forestal y Ambiental Latinoamericano (6.13.01) y con instructores de formación científica y política, provenientes de Chile y Costa Rica. 

IUFRO-SPDC, con el apoyo financiero del Gobierno de Finlandia, tuvo a disposición un número limitado de becas para investigadores provenientes de América Latina y el Caribe.

Más ...
 

Post-Symposium Training Workshop
WORKING EFFECTIVELY AT THE INTERFACE OF FOREST SCIENCE AND FOREST POLICY
Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana, 13 and 14 February, 2011

IUFRO-SPDC in cooperation with the Punjab Agriculture University organised a training workshop on science-policy interfacing.This workshop was open for participants of the IUFRO Symposium on “Short Rotation Forestry: Synergies for Wood Production and Environmental Amelioration” and was held at the same venue from 10 to 12 February 2011.


Activities and Projects in 2010

  • IUFRO-SPDC Pre-Congress Training Workshops
    within the framework of the XIII IUFRO World Congress
    in Seoul, Korea, 2010
    • Forests and Climate Change
    • Traditional Forest Knowledge
    • Forests and Water Interactions
    • Forests and Human Health

    More
  • The IUFRO Special Programme for Developing Countries (IUFRO-SPDC) and GFEP initiated in autumn 2009 the preparation of a regional policy brief "Making African Forests Fit for Climate Change" in collaboration with the thematic group "Forest and climate change” of the Forestry Research Network for Sub-Saharan Africa (FORNESSA). The policy brief is based on a detailed analysis of relevant information contained in the global assessment report and more than 250 additional literature references identified by the African experts. It aims to contribute to the development of effective adaptation strategies in Africa and facilitate related international efforts.

    The policy brief "Making African Forests Fit for Climate Change" was formally presented at the 14th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity, held from 10 to 21 May 2010 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Activities and Projects in 2009

  • IUFRO-SPDC Training Workshop
    "Working effectively at the Interface of Forest Science and Forest Policy"

    In conjunction with the XIII World Forestry Congress
    16-17 October 2009
    Buenos Aires, Argentina
    More
  • FORNESSA Networking Week
    22-26 June 2009
    Blantyre, Malawi
    With the aim to strengthen forest research cooperation within the Sub-Saharan region and to further enhance the ongoing reform process of FORNESSA, a one-week meeting event for FORNESSA member institutions was organised in Blantyre. Initiated by Dr. Joseph Cobbinah (currently the coordinator of the FORNESSA reform process) and IUFRO-SPDC, the event received financial support from KFRI (Republic of Korea), FORMIN (Finland), US-Forest Service, and ITTO. IUFRO-SPDC assisted in preparations and facilitation of the meeting including travel arrangements, fund management, input to the agenda and moderation during the workshops and plenary sessions. Local logistics were provided by the Forest Research Institute of Malawi (FRIM).

    The event brought together 34 scientists from 8 institutions of forest research and higher learning from 6 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, namely Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia and Malawi. The programme included five different workshops, four on specific thematic areas and one workshop on information management to establish the FORNESSA Information Service (FORNIS). In addition two meetings of the FORNESSA Head of Institutions were also held.


  • Science-Policy Interfacing Training Workshop:
    "Working effectively at the Interface of Forest Science and Forest Policy"
    14-15 March 2009
    Chandigarh, India
    Implemented in conjunction with the IUFRO Scientific Meeting on "Plant Invasion and Forest Ecology: Concerns and Solutions"

    Organizers:

    IUFRO-SPDC in cooperation with the Centre of Environment & Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh and the Dayanand National Academy of Environmental Sciences, India.
    More

  • Proposal Writing Training Workshop
    20-22 February 2009
    Hetauda, Nepal
    Implemented in cooperation with the Institute of Forestry of the Tribhuvan University, Nepal and the ComForM Project (Community-based Natural Forest and Tree Management in the Himalaya Project), University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
    Workshop Report



Activities and Projects in 2008

  • IUFRO-SPDC Curso-taller "Trabajando efectivamente en la interfaz entre ciencia y política forestal"

    Fecha:
    2 de noviembre 2008.
    Lugar: sala de CEE, CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica
    En coordinación con el proyecto Tropical Forests and Climate Change Adaptation (TroFCCA) del Center for Internatiobnal Forest Research (CIFOR) y el Centro Agronómico Tropical para la Investigación y Educación (CATIE) el Proyecto Especial para Países en Vías de Desarrollo de la Unión Internacional de Organizaciones de Investigación Forestal (SPDC-IUFRO) organizará este curso-taller de un día.
    Más detalles ...
  • Science-Policy Interfacing Workshop:
    "Science-Policy Interfacing: Enhancing Contributions of Forest Science and Traditional Forest-related Knowledge (TFRK) to the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Forest Resources in Africa"


    Date: 13-14 October 2008
    Location: Accra, Ghana
    Organizers: IUFRO-SPDC in cooperation with the Forestry Research Network of Sub-Saharan Africa (FORNESSA)

    The training workshop was implemented in conjunction with the International Conference on Traditional Forest Knowledge and Sustainable Forest Management in Africa taking place in Accra, Ghana, from 15-17 October 2008.
    More
  • Training workshop "Adaptation of Forests to Climate Change: Working Effectively at the Interface of Forest Science and Forest Policy"

    Date: 22-24 August 2008
    Location: Umea, Sweden
    Organizers: IUFRO-SPDC in cooperation with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)
    More


  • One-day Parallel Event on"Disseminating Scientific Information for Policy and Management" at the Asia-Pacific Forestry Week

    Date:
    25 April 2008
    Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
    Organizers: IUFRO through its Special Programme for Developing Countries (IUFRO-SPDC) and the Global Forest Information Service (GFIS)

    More than 50 participants in this event discussed latest developments and initiatives promoting the interactions between forest science and policy/management.
    More
  • Pre-Conference Training Workshop"Mountain Forestry Development: Working Effectively at the Interface of Forest Science and Forest Policy"

    Date: 31 March - 1 April 2008
    Location: Vienna,  Austria
    Organizers: IUFRO-SPDC and the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (BOKU/Austria). The Workshop was held in conjunction with the International Conference on Mountain Forests in a Changing World (2-4 April 2008).
    More
  • Scientific Publication Project "Keep Asia Green"
    This 5-year project aims at providing state-of-the-art information about the forests in the Asia-Pacific region and the status and causes of their degradation as well as past and current rehabilitation efforts and achievements. The work also involves an assessment of national capacities in forest rehabilitation and existing education programs and critically analyzes the need for further strengthening of forest landscape restoration efforts in the region.

    With funding provided by Yuhan Kimberly of
    Korea, the ASEAN-Korea Environmental Cooperation Project, and IUFRO the project will produce several book volumes each presenting forest restoration and rehabilitation efforts in the various regions of Asia Pacific. For more details about the activities and results of this project please visit the Keep Asia Green website.

Activities and Projects in 2007

  • The Forestry Research Network of Sub-Saharan Africa (FORNESSA) and IUFRO’s Special Programme for Developing Countries (IUFRO-SPDC) jointly organized a Training Workshop"Working Effectively at the Interface of Forest Science and Forest Policy",which was held in Nairobi, Kenya, 4-6 December, 2007.
    Final Workshop report now available for downlaoad.
    More details ...
  • El IUFRO-SPDC celebró un Taller de Capacitación "Trabajando Efectivamente en la Interfaz entre la Ciencia y Política Forestal

Activities and Projects in 2006


Scientific Publication Project "Keep Asia Green"

This 5-year project aimed at providing state-of-the-art information about the forests in the Asia-Pacific region and the status and causes of their degradation as well as past and current rehabilitation efforts and achievements. The work also involved an assessment of national capacities in forest rehabilitation and existing education programs and critically analyzed the need for further strengthening of forest landscape restoration efforts in the region.
With funding provided by Yuhan Kimberly of Korea, the ASEAN-Korea Environmental Cooperation Project, and IUFRO the project produced several book volumes each presenting forest restoration and rehabilitation efforts in the various regions of Asia Pacific. For more details about the activities and results of this project please visit the Keep Asia Green website.

 



Scientist Assistance Programme for the Second Latin American IUFRO Congress
held in La Serena, Chile, from 23 to 27 October, 2006
Under this programme a total of 29 scientists from 14 Latin American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela) were sponsored to participate in the Congress. We gratefully acknowledge funding for the training workshop and congress participation provided by FAO, USDA Forest Service, and the Governments of Finland and the Republic of Korea.


Pre-Congress Training Workshop on "Working Effectively at the Interface of Forest Science and Forest Policy" in conjunction with the Second Latin American IUFRO Congress.
Venue: La Serena, Chile
Time: 20-22 October, 2006
Workshop language: Spanish/English
New: Detailed information on the Results of the Workshop



Activities and Projects in 2005



Regional Forest Research Organizations – Experiences and Visions
Satellite Event held during the XXII IUFRO World Congress in Brisbane, Australia, August 2005.
Birger Solberg (Chair), Atse Yapi, Sim Heok-Choh, Michael Kleine (Rapporteurs)
This satellite meeting was attended by 24 scientists from various regions.

Birger Solberg (Norway) opened the meeting and briefly stated the objectives of this event:
• Present experiences of regional actions in forest research;
• Learn from each other and understand the roles and linkages of the various global and regional organizations/associations/networks;
• Discuss future directions of regional forest research;
• Identify the needs to improve networking and the optimal role of regional organisations - between national and global levels. More ...



IUFRO-SPDC at the XXII IUFRO World Congress

IUFRO-SPDC Pre-Congress Training Courses 
A pre-Congress training event was organized at the Gympie Conference Centre, north of Brisbane, from 2-5 August 2005 and included the following courses:

    • The Use of Information and Communication Technology Tools in Forest Research

  • International Forest Related Initiatives and Agreements and their Implementation in the Context of National Forest Programmes - Linking Research and Science with Practice

  • Communicating Forest Research - Making Science Work for Policy and Management

  • Sustainable Forest Management Criteria and Indicators - Their Enhancement Through Science

In total, fifteen forest organisations and expert institutions assisted in this training event through cash and in-kind contributions, namely the Government of Finland, USDA Foresty Service, FAO, GTZ, Oxford University Library Services, Tropenbos International, the Australian Government's Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, University of Washington Libraries, IFS, the Finnish Forest Association, METLA, the Southern Cross University, CIFOR, IFSA and CAB International. This support included preparation of programme and course material, provision of expertise and course facilitators, and assistance in course implementation.  More ...



Strengthening Collective Innovation Capacity of Forest Stakeholders in Research and Development Session 043 of the XXII IUFRO World Congress, Brisbane, Australia, 8-13 August 2005.
This session brought together experts from around the world and discussed ways and means of interaction between forest stakeholders including scientists to further the cause of sustainable forest management. More ...



Regional Forest Research Organizations - Experiences and Visions
Satellite event held during the XXII IUFRO World Congress in Brisbane, Australia, in August 2005

Click here for meeting report prepared by Atse Yapi, Sim Heok-Choh, and Michael Kleine.



Activities and Projects in 2004


GFIS-Africa
After 4 ½ years of implementation, the EC-funded GFIS-Africa Project came to an end. This project, the single largest specific-purpose project ever implemented by IUFRO-SPDC, commenced in January 2000 and provided a total of 1 million EURO for developing the African component of the Global Forest Information Service. With two familiarisation and metadata mobilisation campaigns implemented in Nigeria and Tanzania the project was concluded at the end of June 2004.

Under the umbrella of the Forestry Research Network of Sub-Saharan Africa (FORNESSA) and with support of IUFRO-SPDC a group of African scientists compiled a scientific synthesis (REHABILITATION OF DEGRADED LANDS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: Lessons Learned from Selected Case Studies) based on case studies of land rehabilitation from all major ecological regions in Western- Eastern and Southern Africa covering "dry", "humid" and "sub-humid" forests and woodlands. Click here for more information.